PARIS: Aeroflot cancels 787 order

Aeroflot has cancelled its order for 22 Boeing 787s, the carrier's deputy general director for strategy and alliances Giorgio Callegari confirms.

"We have exercised our option to terminate the contract on the 787," he told Flightglobal at the Paris air show today.

The airline executive says the decision was based on analysis of "capacity at the airport [Sheremetyevo]" and the "sustainability of the fleet development – sustainability in terms of the right mix of widebodies and narrowbodies and network development".

Aeroflot is, says Callegari, "confident that we can meet the original targets" set by the airline's board "in terms of volumes of passengers, the size of the company and the performance of the company, by shaping our fleet and network in a more attractive way".

Flightglobal's Ascend Fleets database shows that the Russian flag carrier had 22 787s on order from the manufacturer. Callegari says Aeroflot did not incur a financial penalty from Boeing for cancelling the order. The decision, he adds, "was not a one-day process, but taken in due course and discussed with the relevant stakeholders and counterparts".

Aeroflot is also reviewing its order for 22 Airbus A350s, but Callegari rules out any possibility of these being cancelled. Instead, he says, the on-order mix of eight A350-800s and 14 A350-900s is "something that we are looking at".

The delivery dates for the A350 order are also "part of the discussions". But while the airline "does have a date in mind... we are not disclosing it", adds Callegari.